Around sports: Dillon wins Xfinity race with last-lap pass

INDIAN WELLS, CA - MARCH 19: Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates his win over Rafael Nadal of Spain during the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on March 19, 2016 in Indian Wells, California. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

Photo: Matthew Stockman, Staff

FONTANA, Calif. - Austin Dillon passed Kyle Busch and Daniel Suarez on the final lap and surged to an improbable victory in the Xfinity Series race Saturday.

Busch got within two miles of his record-tying fourth consecutive Xfinity win after leading 133 of the 150 laps, but the defending Sprint Cup Series champ got a flat tire while attempting to save fuel.

Suarez briefly went in front while Busch attempted to keep racing on the sparking flat wheel.

But when Suarez ran out of gas, Dillon roared up and stole his seventh career victory in his Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.

Dillon scraped the wall on the final turn while getting around Busch, who made contact with Dillon.

Dillon only led one lap, setting a record for fewest laps led by a winner.

The win is another boost for Dillon, Childress' grandson. He will start Sunday's Sprint Cup Series race up front after claiming his second career pole, hoping to finish the weekend with his first career Cup win.

Busch finished second and Darrell Wallace Jr. moved up to third. Suarez, Busch's Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, was fourth.

Tennis

Djokovic bests

Nadal yet again

Novak Djokovic continued his recent mastery of Rafael Nadal on hard courts, winning 7-6 (5), 6-3 to reach the BNP Paribas Open final for the third consecutive year.

The world's top-ranked player will meet Milos Raonic - a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 victor over David Goffin - in Sunday's final at Indian Wells, with Djokovic trying to win a record fifth title in the California desert. He has won the last two years in a row.

Djokovic extended his advantage over Nadal on hard courts to 18-7, winning the last seven times since the Spaniard beat him in the 2013 U.S. Open final.

The Serb also owns a 25-23 edge in the longest running rivalry in the Open era, having won six consecutive meetings and 10 of the last 11.

Golf

Day maintains

lead at Palmer

Jason Day survived bursts of rain and a few bogeys for a 2-under-par 70 in the third round to keep his two-shot lead in the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Orlando, Fla.

The starting times were moved forward to avoid a forecast of thunderstorms in the afternoon. Players still had to cope with occasionally heavy rain, though Bay Hill held up nicely and so did the 28-year-old Australian.

He was at 15-under 201 and had a two-shot lead over Henrik Stenson (70), Troy Merritt (67) and Kevin Chappell (67).

Stenson took the lead with a 10-foot eagle on the par-5 sixth hole, only to find a plugged lie in the bunker on the next hole. Day regained the lead with a birdie at No. 8 and kept it the rest of the way.

In other news:

Scott Verplank shot his second consecutive 6-under 66 to take the second-round lead in the PGA Tour Champions' Tucson Conquistadores Classic. Jim Carter (63) and Wes Short Jr. (65) were a stroke back.

Horse racing

Cupid triumphs

in Rebel Stakes

Cupid led nearly from wire to wire to capture the Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn in Hot Springs, Ark., and propel another Bob Baffert-trained horse toward the Kentucky Derby.

The gray colt won its first race six weeks ago at Santa Anita and then shipped off to Oaklawn Park, where Baffert had five Rebel winners since 2010. Last year's - American Pharoah - went on to win the Triple Crown.

Cupid took the rail early, opened a two-length lead in the far corner and outran Whitmore to the finish line. Creator finished third.

Winter Sports

Shiffrin tough

to beat in slalom

Mikaela Shiffrin of the United States racked up her eighth successive World Cup win in the slalom at St. Moritz, Switzerland.

Shiffrin again won by a large margin, with her closest rivals more than two seconds slower at the season-ending World Cup finals.

Veronika Velez-Zuzulova (2.03 seconds behind) and newly crowned World Cup winner Frida Hansdotter (2.31) could only smile wryly as Shiffrin crossed the line after another monstrous run from the Olympic champion.

Shiffrin is unbeaten in slalom racing since February 2015 but missed five races during a two-month injury layoff and couldn't capture a fourth successive crystal globe in the discipline.

It was an all-French podium in the men's giant slalom as an impressive second run from Thomas Fanara saw him edge teammate Alexis Pinturault

It was the first World Cup win for Fanara, who was fourth-fastest in the first run, and beat Pinturault by 0.02 seconds. Mathieu Faivre was 0.14 off the pace.

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